Break Up
by Princess.Leia.D
Summary: Nancy's in the hospital. Who will she choose?


Authors Note: Sorry Nancy/Ned fans. My opinion is that Detective Frank and Detective Nancy make a much better couple. I won't be too cruel to Ned, I promise.

I obviously don't own the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew or else Nancy and Ned would have never got together.

Nancy sat on the hospital bed, her legs hanging over the side. Today was the first day that she was out of ICU. Bess and George had already been and gone. George was picking her boyfriend, Jon, up from the airport and Bess had a lunch date with her husband.

Bess had gotten married about three years ago to Nathan Cole, a wealthy young man that had moved to River Heights five years ago. He and Bess had met on a cruise in Europe. He had been enchanted from the first, she took a little longer to convince.

George had met Jon on a case. Their mutual interests, skiing, bicycling, marathons, and camping, brought them together.

Nancy had been on a case. Only this time she didn't escape unharmed. One of the criminals bullets had found its way into her side. She had lost a lot of blood and been staying in the ICU for a week and a half. She was still recovering but she felt a lot better.

"Miss Drew!" The nurse came bustling into the room. "You aren't supposed to be up. You need to get your rest." Nancy sighed, but did as the nurse instructed. As soon as she was lying down the nurse smiled.

"You have another visitor, Miss Drew, a Ned Nickerson I believe." She said, rearranging the flowers beside Nancy's bed.

"Ned!" Nancy sat straight up. "Show him in, please." She begged the nurse.

"Very well, Miss Drew, but you must promise to remain calm and if you don't stay down I'll have you tied to the bed." The nurse pretended to be very serious as she gently pushed Nancy back to her pillow.

"Yes ma'am." Nancy giggled. It had been a long time since anyone had treated her like a little child.

Ned waited outside the hospital room. He had been very worried about Nancy since Bess had called to tell him that Nancy had been found, but she was seriously injured. Ned paced from one side of the door to the other. He didn't know how he put up with it, Nancy always running off on some case and more likely than not coming back injured in some way. The nurse opened the door.

"You can come in now." She said. Ned walked into the small room. Nancy lay in the hospital bed. Her blue eyes were dancing and her cheeks were flushed a healthy pink.

"Hello Nancy." Ned said softly. "How are you?" Nancy sighed.

"Health wise I'm doing fine, otherwise. . .I can't wait to get out of this bed and back into life." She laughed a little as she said this.

"How are you?" She asked. Ned laughed sharply.

"My girlfriend is in the hospital with a serious gunshot wound, and you ask me how I'm doing?" He said. "Why didn't you tell me where you were going?" Ned softened his voice.

"I don't know." Nancy said, shrugging her shoulders. "I needed to go and I didn't want us to fight." Ned sighed.

"I want the best for you Nan, I just want you to be safe." Ned sat down on the hospital bed beside her. "I want to ask you something." Nancy raised her eyebrows.

"What?" She asked. Ned twisted the corner of the blanket around his fingers. "We've been dating for a long time." He trailed off.

"Five years." Nancy said. She had a feeling what he was about to ask.

"Yeah, well. . ." He paused for a moment. "Well, would you marry me?" He blurted out. Nancy stared at him.

"Marry you?" She squeaked. "Why?" Ned looked hurt.

"Bess has been happily married for going on three years, Jon plans on asking George to marry him at dinner tonight. Everyone we've known since we met has either gotten married or engaged." Ned took a breath and continued. "Besides, once you have a family you can't keep running off on random cases. You will have a responsibility. You will be safe." Nancy kept on staring at him.

"You expect me to give up being a detective?" Nancy asked, her voice steadily rising. "I can take care of myself, I don't need a knight in shining armor." She finished in an almost yell.

"Well once you have a family and a house to take care of you won't have time to be a detective." Ned said matter-a-factly.

"Ned." Nancy said with deadly calm. "I am a detective. That is who I have always been and who I will always be, getting married and having a family will not change that about me. If you want to marry me, you will have to accept that." Ned stood up and placed a black velvet box on her tray.

"I don't want to be married to someone that constantly puts herself in the path of danger, but I want to marry you. Please consider my proposal." Ned walked out of the room. Nancy settled back into her pillows.

A couple hours passed before Nancy had another visitor. A knock sounded at her doorway and George stuck her head into the room.

"Can we come in?" She asked. Nancy nodded. George came into the room followed by her boyfriend, Jon, and another young man.

"Frank!" Nancy jumped to a sitting position. "What are you doing here?" Frank crossed the room and gave her a hug. He picked up the velvet box and flipped it open.

"Heard you got shot but I guess I should congradulate you as well." He held the box out for George to take a look at. Frank was truly struggling to keep his feelings inside. If Nancy was happy, he was happy, well, almost.

"Woah." George took the box from Frank. "That's some ring." She said, Jon agreed. Nancy just looked at her.

"Really?" Nancy asked. "I haven't even looked at it. Ned dropped it off earlier." She shrugged. Frank stared at her.

"You didn't even bother to look at the ring?" He was confused. Nancy sighed.

"Ned left before I could tell him to take it with him. He gave me a choice, give up detective work and marry him or keep on being a detective and give up him." Nancy sighed sounding for the first time incredibly tired. "I told him I have always been a detective and always will be, and he could either take me for who I am or find someone else." Frank sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.

Two days later the nurse brought a brought a bouquet of flowers into Nancy's room. She placed the dozen roses into Nancy's arms.

"There is a note there." The nurse nodded toward a small piece of paper. Nancy unfolded it. It read:

Hey Nancy. I hope you are feeling better. I just wanted to tell you that I think Ned is really stupid to let you go. I heard you will be getting out of the hospital in a week or so. I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go out to dinner after you get out. I plan to drop in later,

Frank

It was around 7 o'clock when Frank finally dropped by for a visit.

"Yes." Nancy said as soon as Frank set foot in her room. Frank looked at her confused.

"Yes what?" He asked.

"Yes, I'll go out to dinner with you when I get out of the hospital." Nancy laughed. Franks face lit up.

"Really? You will?" Frank couldn't believe it. Nancy's smile matched Franks.

"Yes, I will." She laughed delightedly then all at once her smile disappeared. "Hello Ned." She said her face a impassable mask.

"I didn't know you had a visitor." Ned said bitterly. "I came to see if you had found an answer to my question." Nancy turned to Frank.

"Could you hand me the ring box over there?" She asked him. Frank reached over and tossed her the velvet box.

"Here." Nancy held the box out to Ned. "I'm a detective." She said. "If you can't handle that I suggest we say good bye." Ned took the box from her.

"I'm sorry Ned." Nancy said, watching him walk to the door. Ned turned right before he left.

"I'm sorry too, Nan. Good-bye." He exited the room. Frank had watched this exchange silently. Nancy turned back to him a smile once again upon her lips.

"Thank you for being here during all that." Nancy said, placing her hand over Frank's.

"I really didn't have anything to do with that." Frank pointed out. Nancy grinned.

"I know but thanks anyway." Nancy smiled. Frank bit his lower lip.

"I realize this isn't the time to bring this up but I've wanted to ask this for a long time." Frank sounded incredibly nervous.

"What is it Frank?" Nancy said, a smile entering her voice.

"I know you just broke up with him so take your time answering this but, will you give me a chance?" He practically begged. Nancy smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Let's take this one step at a time." She said. "Dinner first." Frank grinned.

"Dinner first." He agreed.

Thanks for reading! I'd really appreciate a review. I'm new at this writing Fan Fiction stuff so a review would really help me with writing better Fan Fiction. Thanks again,

Janie.


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